One the the things that people like about Cryptocurrencies is that there is a feeling that you have to “Earn” it. Its so new that there really isn’t Cypto “old money.” There aren’t a bunch of Crypto trust fund kids. Or families of 3rd generation rich, Crypto kids.
It’s newer money. So people feel like the people who have it, earned it more. They learned something new. Or maybe they actually “mined” it.
Within the crypto world, the accounting is on something called “The Blockchain.” Where, basically, people get paid in cryptocurrencies by doing accounting work.
So, to get IT (money), you probably had to do SOMETHING.
There is a Proof of Work – or a Proof of Stake. Like an old fashioned Gold Mine. You have staked your claim.
Marketing genius Seth Godin talked about this in the “Proof of Stake” episode of his Akimbo podcast. One example he used is the respect for Veterans. In many situations, we will give the opinions of Veterans more weight than other people. Because they have a “proof of stake”. They risked more.
Seth summarized Proof of Stake as: We should let the people who have a lot at stake chime in on the things we are about to decide.
It’s about representation. It’s about democracy.
You can see this in many areas of the world. Media. Politics. The internet. Podcasts. There are so many people talking that people want to know “Why should I listen to you.”
In the past, it was hard to get a podium. So most people defaulted to “Well, I’m listenign to you on this newspaper>magazine>radio>tv>computer screen>phone – so someone must have checked that you know something.” It’s not happening fast enough, but people ARE starting to realize THIS is not really the case.
And hopefully this concept will kill the old school worship of the Corporate Organization Chart. The notion that someone knows better than you – in your field of expertise – just because they are on a higher line of a power point.
The world of employment is changing. People are less willing than ever to work jobs they hate. To bring their skills and abilities to jobs – companies – people they hate just for money.
We don’t want to hear people be authority when they haven’t proven their dog in the fight. Their authority. Proven they have done the reading. Especially not random internet people.
And I like it.
Like Seth said in the Podcast: When there is a group of people in a room, looking to make a real decision, does everyone ALWAYS look to the boss? Likely not.
It’s often made because the group looks to somebody who is willing to accept responsibility. Responsibility and Authority are different.
“This is what we are seeing in the media fueled insanity of democratic nations around the world. A whole bunch of people – trolls, sock puppets, anonymous people – are showing up and demanding authority without taking responsibility. They want to be critical without doing the work, learning the topic.
And the same thing is happening in that meeting at work.”
They want to comment and criticize, without providing a proof of stake. They don’t want to put anything up for their opinion. They are not offering better solutions that they are willing to implement.
They want a voice – without the responsibility.
From Godin: Authority is an artifact of industrial capitalism. We had to invent the org chart to have the organization. BUT, there is something else going on here. And that other aspect is – that while authority is hard to get, authority can be misused. Responsibility is usually up for grabs.
If you are willing to say “Put it on my watch. Put my name on it. I’ll get this thing done” – and you mean it. The rest of the community will say “OK, we are counting on you because you have done it before.”
That is your Proof of Stake. And it should mean more than title or lines of an org chart.